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07 February, 2016

Places to see

I've been working on a series of images depicting places of mystic power. They started out pretty generic, but as I've created more of them, a cosmology has unfolded. I've been working through a few symbols that give each of these locations some special features that might be useful for GMs in a range of games (or perhaps integrate specifically into a new game design).

Elemental Affinities: These may be places scattered across the planes, or they may be places that occur within an existing setting, the only certainty is that they each played a role in an ancient mystical war across time and space. Every location is empowered with mystic energy resonating with primeval elemental frequencies. At these places, mystic effects attuned to matching energies are magnified, while those opposed are diminished.

A base mystic sees five elements. Those of the western schools perceive Air, Earth, Fire and Water (with a quintessence at their centre), while those of the Eastern schools perceive Fire, Metal, Water. and Wood (with a variable earth either at the centre of forming a fifth point).

A greater mystic sees that these views of the mystic cosmology are merely cross sections of a more complex form: one cross section horizontal, another vertical. These mystics see a cube, air above, earth below, water forward, fire back, wood to the left, metal to the right. From kabbalah they draw concepts of light within radiating from a source, and darkness outside the cube. These form two final elements that only the most powerful mystics fully comprehend.

Every location exists somewhere with respect to these elements, and even though their geographical directions from one another may follow completely different correspondences, most mystics maps them and the directions between them according to their elemental connection.

Air - Movement and Surface Appearance

Darkness - Stealth and Secrecy

Earth - Sturdiness and Strength

Fire - Conflict and Passion

Light - Revelation and Power

Metal - Artifice and Death

Water - Knowledge and Calm

Wood - Vitality and Sociality

Treasures: The different locations have a tendency to provide different types of treasure. I'm not sure if I'll add more options, I'm open to suggestions.

Cartographic: This type of treasure might lead to a new part of the adventure or open up new paths of exploration.

Informative: This type of treasure might expand information about something that has been confounding the character so far.

Martial: This treasure provides the type of weapons and armour that might be needed to successfully confront a violent threat.

Valuable: This treasure has a high degree of value, it might be traded for something else needed by the group, or it might be the objective that the characters have been sent for.

Functional: This type of treasure isn't a weapon or tool of particular use to the characters, but it does have a specific use in the community where it is found.

Component: This type of treasure is a part for a lager objective, or maybe the tools necessary to assemble components into a more complex whole.

Associative: This type of treasure consists of useful people who are willing to help out in some regard.

Regal: This type of treasure comes in the form of formal writs, licenses, formal boons, or documents of status that might be used to circumvent different types of issues.

Blog Note

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